How do you calculate the "cost of working"?

If someone asked you how much you earned per hour at your
job, how would you determine the answer? Would you take your
weekly salary and divide by 40 to calculate an hourly rate?
What about the time you spend commuting to and from your
workplace? If it's an hour each way, five days a week, maybe
you should divide by 50 instead.

The point is very few people actually calculate their "cost of
working". If you make $1,000 per week is that $25.00 per hour?
To see the whole picture you need to consider two
broad areas: 1) how many hours per week do I spend on
work related tasks beyond the 40 hours I'm compensated for, and
2) how much money do I spend on work related items and
how much money do I pay to other people to perform tasks I would
do myself if I had the time? Lets look at hours first.

Now let's look at the salary side of the equation. Joe earns a
salary of $1,000 per week or $52,000 per year. What's he left with
after a few expenses?

.

Item

Dollars ($)

.

.

Base salary

$52,000

.

.

minus taxes

(14,000)

.

.

minus commuting costs

(2,000)

.

.

work clothes

(1,500)

.

.

day care (2 children)

(10,400)

.

.

.

__________

.

.

Total

$24,100

.

Let's do some arithmetic. Joe works 55 hours per week for 48 weeks
per year (He gets 2 weeks vacation and 10 paid holidays, that's why
its 48 weeks rather than 52.) 55 times 48 equals 2,640 hours per year.

How much is that per hour? $24,100 divided by 2,640 hours equals $9.13
per hour. That's a big drop from the $25.00 per hour Joe thought he
was making.